Thursday, 16 November 2023

Housing

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) incorporated the following (616):

I am calling on the Minister for Housing to acknowledge and supply immediate support for people in social and public housing, especially for those who are experiencing homelessness, and I also call on the Minister to provide more support systems for those on low to extremely low incomes.

The Government has announced a “fast-track planning decisions” for developments at a cost of more than $50M while this includes a portion of affordable housing and stronger protection for renters, but social housing is still not be addressed adequately.

According to Government reports and press releases, the new housing minister was asked a question about housing, and it wasn’t answered.

This new housing initiative by the Government is expected to lead to the construction of up to 800,000 new homes in the next decade, increasing by 2.2 million by 2051, which is all great, but what about people suffering now. What about our homeless and those on a desperate waiting list, all 32,000 of them. What happens to them?

According to journalist Benita Kolovos, in The Guardian newspaper on 20 September 2023, we hear that the $5.3 million “big build” due to finish in 2024 is expected to be redesigned to build and upgrade more social housing across the state, which apparently “could” include several of the state’s ageing high-rise towers, with tenants to be briefed in the coming days.

This is expected to be considered to determine if it is “feasible” to convert under-utilised commercial buildings in the CBD to apartments and allow super funds to become affordable housing providers. The Guardian Benita Kolovos 20 September 2023

When will the Government support those most vulnerable.

According to the Government’s website on Victoria’s Big Housing Bid program, the program seeks to boost total social housing supply by 10%, but CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said it was increasingly difficult for the private sector to include affordable homes in their housing projects.

As she says rising land values, high-interest rates, tight labour markets and increased material costs, delivering affordable housing can become less and less feasible. We need the government to fix this.

Community Housing Industry Association chief executive Jess Pomeroy said: “Any new initiatives to deliver affordable housing (rather than social housing) should be targeted to the people we know are missing out: low-wage and insecure workers.

“It’s the cleaners and baristas, childcare and aged care workers that can no longer afford the rent.”

Those on the public housing list, who are on extremely low to low incomes and are often experiencing homelessness, family violence or have other special needs, are still being horribly neglected.

Some may say – Well let’s freeze rent prices but this won’t work or will asking the private sector to build more affordable housing, especially for people on lower incomes. The Government needs to step in and acknowledge that people on low or little income are being neglected in this process and some further systems need to be developed to help those most in need, not fill the pockets of developers and government coffers.

I have had numerous complaints from my constituents because they cannot get public housing in the Cranbourne, Clyde, Narre Warren North, Carrum, or Frankston areas.

Currently 32,000 people on the priority waiting list.

Over eight years from 2015 to 2023, under this Government, Victoria’s total public housing waitlist has nearly doubled growing by 33,627.

Last year, the Victorian Ombudsman, Deborah Glass, in her assessment of the complaints process in the housing system, said that about 150,000 Victorians live in either public housing provided by the government or community housing run by registered organisations.

Ms Glass also recommended that the government fund advocacy services and consider adding a right to housing to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights. Financial Review 7 July 2022

According to a “state government spokesperson” in the AAP in July 2022: “All renters in social housing, whether in public housing or community housing, should expect to be treated consistently and with respect, and have complaints managed effectively.”

Well, this just is not happening – these people are being forgotten.